Warlords of Draenor Beta – My Draenei has no Hair!

This blog is part of my series with my thoughts about, and experiences in, the World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor beta. So far, things have been interesting! I decided to roll a pre-made Level 90 character so I could see some of the new stuff without having to actually take the time to level a character all the way up. When I started playing this beta, I rolled a brand new Level 1 female Orc Warrior.

Next, I thought it would be a good idea to roll an Alliance character, so I could see both sides of things. The WoW character I’ve spent the most time playing is my female Draenei Shaman – so that’s what I rolled. I did not expect to end up with a bald female Draenei, but that is what happened! The screenshots that you see in this blog were taken on July 20, 2014.

The female Draenei looks better in the beta than she did in the current version of World of Warcraft. I’ve seen a preview of the new character model for this race before, but it was still cool to see the actual “in-game” version. One of the first things I noticed was that there is a wider variety of skin colors for the female Draenei in WoD than in the current WoW.

There was also an option to select a very light, white, pale skin. I seem to have neglected to take a screenshot of that one.

Eventually, I decided on the combination of characteristics that you see in the screenshot below. The green hair and skin looked good to me. It felt very “alien”. The randomizer came up with the name Naelli for me.

I hit the “Finish” button and was looking forward to discovering what I could do with a Level 90 character. None of my characters in WoW were that high. Before I could really dig in and explore, something strange happened. My Draenei had lost her hair!

Draenei females who are bald look so strange! Here’s a view of the back of poor Naelli’s bald head.

It also looked like the lovely green skin I selected had changed. She now appeared to be a light purple color. What happened? I had no idea. Perhaps this is a small “bug” that will correct itself after I get into the game?

No such luck!

Somehow, I don’t think this was the result that Blizzard intended. Not only is my new pre-made Level 90 Draenei bald, she’s also ended up with a skin tone that I did not select. It now looks blue, instead of the green I wanted.

Surely, there must be some way to fix things? This is the goofiest looking “bug” that I have ever encountered in a beta. Not knowing what else to do, I asked for some help in chat. A very kind person helped me out.

ME: Anybody else roll a pre made and have it’s hair missing?

HELPFUL PERSON: Are you a Draenei?

ME: Yes.

HELPFUL PERSON: Turn off your helmet.

To turn off your helmet, you need to click the ? box that is in the bar at the bottom of the screen. A small window will pop up. Click on “Interface”.

Another window will pop up. Select “Display” from the list at the side of the window. Then, look at the bigger part of the box. Find the checkmark that is sitting in a box next to “Show Helm”. The checkmark means that the game is showing the helmet that your character is wearing. Click it once to uncheck it. That is how to “turn off your helm”.

It worked! Naelli was no longer a pathetic looking bald Draenei! The hair style I chose for her is correct, but the color doesn’t look dark green. Her skin tone also is not the green color I wanted. This is one example of the unexpected stuff that can happen in a beta.

I suspected that there could be other players who were having the same problem that I was. So, I typed into the chat something like “Turning off helm worked. Thank you!”

So, that explains the sudden baldness. But, it doesn’t tell me why her shoulders and weapon are missing. Or, to be more correct, she has all kinds of armor and a weapon… but they have all gone invisible!

When you find something wonky like this “missing hair” issue in a beta, the proper thing to do is to report it. In order to do that, you need to go to the Battle Net website, log in, get into the World of Warcraft section, and hunt around for the Forums. There is one that indicates that it is where you should post information about “bugs” and other problems.

I like to start by searching around to see if anyone has already reported the “bug” that I ran into. Sure enough, someone made a post called “Female Draenei pre-made has no hair”. It was posted on July 19, 2014. Another player had the same problem that I did. Someone taught her the “trick” about turning off your helm. Once she did that, her Draenei’s hair returned.

The post got a response that included a link to a post that was made by Zorbrix (who is listed as “Quality Assurance”). It was posted on July 18, 2014. It said:

This model, like most of the others, is a Work in Progress. In this build she has some issues with both spell effects and armor not always showing up properly.

Notably, Helms will not appear and will also hide your character’s hair. (Basically the game thinks you have a helm equipped, since you do, and hides your hair to prevent. But since the helm doesn’t show up, you’re bald). Shoulders, weapons, and a few other slots are also hidden.

Apologies for all the Female Draenei fans out there! We hope to get the model fully completed soon.

I like that Blizzard put this information out there. I now completely understand why my female Draenei lost her hair. Next time I get in game, I will have to see if the “fully completed” Draenei model has appeared in the WoD beta.

The somewhat troubling thing about this information is that it tells me that the female Draenei (and most of the other character models) are a Work in Progress. They are not yet complete. I’m not sure what, if anything, that indicates in terms of when the WoD expansion will be released.

Published by Jen

Podcaster since 2005. Freelance writer since 2010. Former host of the Shattered Soulstone podcast - now the editor. Host of the Words of Jen Podcast and the Jen's Lore Corner Podcast. Plagued by several chronic illnesses.
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